#BlogTour-‘The Way Of All Flesh’ by Ambrose Perry

About the book…

Hugest of thanks to Canongate and Anne Cater from Random Thing for having me on the blogtour for the wondrous ‘The Way Of All Flesh’ by Ambrose Parry

The book is published by Canongate in paperback as well as being Waterstones book of the  month for May!

Edinburgh, 1847. Will Raven is a medical student, apprenticing for the brilliant and renowned Dr Simpson. Sarah Fisher is Simpson’s housemaid, and has all of Raven’s intelligence but none of his privileges.

As bodies begin to appear across the Old Town, Raven and Sarah find themselves propelled headlong into the darkest shadows of Edinburgh’s underworld.

And if either of them are to make it out alive, they will have to work together to find out who’s responsible for the gruesome deaths.

What an amazing book! I haven’t read one with such an arresting first sentence in  a long time-

‘No decent story begins with a dead prostitute, and for that,apologies,for it is not something upon which respectable persons would desire to dwell’

Will is investigating the deaths of young girls in Edinburgh, the kind that no one cares to look for when they go missing -he, however, is determined to work out what is going on using his medical skills with the assitance of surgeon’s maid, Sarah.

The Edinburgh setting is fabulous, I have never been there but the evocative recreation of that city in the nineteenth century comes leaping off the page as a character in its own right.It’s an historical novel but also a thrilling crime one, mixing societal issues alongside the beginnings of the medical profession.

The title echoes the semi-autobiographical novel ‘The Way Of All Flesh’ by Samuel Butler, both take swinging shots at Victorian hypocrisy where the upper classes prided themselves on the acquistion of knowldege yet their rigid religious societal codes would place barrier after barrier in the way.

This was especially true with medical students who had limited resources with which to investigate the workings of the human body , especially so soon after the grave robbing exploits of Burke and Hare.It is an ambitious novel, many writers of today would try and shoehorn an inependent, woman in as a foil to the male main character, but Sarah and WIll need each other as equals, not as lovers. It is , in fact, Will’s discovery of the body of a prostitute whom he befriended that starts the entire investigative process.

The lack of willing volunteers into medical experiments alongside some quite terrifying loan sharks would not seem obvious bedfellows but the skill of husband and wife team, Ambrose Parry, means that these delicate sutures will leave minimal scaring as the story collides.

It is gripping, sensational and never dull or dry , it is a steam engine of a novel which rattles down tracks of illegal experiments, missing people and and greed till it reaches a satisfying that sets the scene for a sequel. Literary, unforgettable and with so many twists and turns it will satisfy any mystery fan, this debut heralds the arrival of a major new talent in the historical crime field.

I thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend it, especially if you liked ‘The Murder Pit’ by Mick Finlay, this will also have great appeal! What I loved was that it was based, to some extent, on historical fact and this was acknowledged at the end of the novel with suggested reading.

About the authors…

Ambrose Parry is a pseudonym for a collaboration between Chris Brookmyre and Marisa Haetzman. The couple are married and live in Scotland.

Chris Brookmyre is the international bestselling and multi-award-winning author of over twenty novels, including Black Widow, winner of both the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year and the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Novel of the Year.

Dr Marisa Haetzman is a consultant anaesthetist of twenty years’ experience, whose research for her Master’s degree in the History of Medicine uncovered the material upon which this novel was based. T’he Way of All Flesh’ is the first book in the series.

Twitter @ambroseparry

@canongatebooks

             @annecater

Links-https://www.brookmyre.co.uk/

https://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle-2-15039/culture/edinburgh-festivals/books-interview-ambrose-parry-aka-marisa-haetzman-and-chris-brookmyre-1-4789397